Virginia's 'Personhood' Bill Is Latest Front in the Culture War

Cnn, Athena Jones, St. Joseph News-Press

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- In the Virginia House of Delegates,
Republican Robert Marshall is a longtime abortion opponent who has
tried repeatedly to pass legislation in his state that would give
rights to the unborn.

This year, on his third try, Marshall just might get his wish,
and that has advocates for women's reproductive rights concerned.

The House of Delegates passed a so-called "personhood" bill
Tuesday sponsored by Marshall that would give unborn children at all
stages of development -- including embryos -- the same rights
available to "other persons" in the state "subject only to the laws
and constitutions of Virginia and the United States, precedents of
the United States Supreme Court, and provisions to the contrary in
the statutes of the Commonwealth."

"We need to get back to the respect for life that we used to have
in this country that's been lost," Marshall told CNN.

Virginia is the latest front in a long-running battle over
women's reproductive rights -- a fight that has taken center stage
in recent weeks after a controversial decision by the Obama
administration to require religious groups to provide their
employees access to birth control in their insurance plans at no
cost.

The administration later offered a compromise, after drawing fire
from Catholic leaders and other religious organizations. However,
the issue has stayed in the headlines.

Marshall's bill must still be passed by the Virginia state
Senate. If that happens, Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell's office
has said he will review the measure if it reaches his desk, but he
has not committed to signing it.

Opponents of the legislation believe it could restrict access not
only to abortions but to some forms of contraception, like those
that prevent implantation of fertilized eggs. Democratic Delegate
Eileen Filler-Corn, who supports abortion rights, said the
legislation represented an "overreach by the state."

"These decisions should be left to a woman and her physician, a
medical professional," Filler-Corn said. "This is a slippery slope
and eventually, the goal of the personhood movement is to ensure
that birth control is illegal."

Marshall says his law does not directly challenge the Supreme
Court's landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision affirming a woman's
right to an abortion, although he acknowledged it is a step in that
direction. …

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